Poultry dressing machine



i J. P. SPANG POULTRY DRESSING MACHINE Aug 17, 194&

Filed Aug. 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 17, 1943.. .1. P. SPANG POULTRY DRESSING MACHINE Filed Aug. 5, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Aug. 17, 1943 POULTRY DRESSING MACHINE I Joseph P; Spang, Quincy,- Mass., assignor to Cube Steak Machine 00., Boston, Mass.,'a corporation of Massachusetts 7 I Application August 5, 1941, Serial No. 405,499

1c Claims. (o1; 1 7 11), t '1 My invention relates to machines or apparatus for cleaning or eviscerating poultry, game,"and other food animals. In one aspect my invention consists in an improved machine of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,189,484 granted February 6, 1940, to Alcibiade A. Brodeur and reissued as Reissue 21,983,December 23, 1941. provements of more general application whereby a faster, more accurate and moreautomaticma- In another aspect it consists in imchine may be produced than has been heretofore I available. H a

My invention will be herein described in its application to an eviscerating machine for poultry although, it isnot limited to that or to any specific field of use. The essential elements of such a machine comprise a support for holding the bird to be cleaned and ashaft arranged to be driven through the bird and carrying fingers on one end which are opened after their introduction into the interior of the bird and engage its entrails. One object of my invention is to provide means, automatically operated upon contact with the bird, for causing opening of the entrail-engagingfingers. The speed of operation of previous machines ,has been limited due to the. necessity of Fig. 1 is 'a- View in side elevationof a machine constructed according to my invention, in readiness for an eviscerating operation,

v Fig; 2 is a similar view-in side elevation afte r the machine has completed an operation,

Fig. 3. is a view in endelevationof the platform andiclamps used .to' support a bird,

Fig. .a'is a view in cross-section longitudinally throughthe operating head of the machine,

Fig. 5 is. a-view inperspective of the operating head'of the machine, and

Fig.I 6 is a view in cross section taken along the line 6.6 of.Fig;3.*;

.The'dr'awings .show by way of example, an elongated narrow base [0 vertically bored to re.- ceive a shaft [2 which floats on a compression spring 14 and extends upwardly from the base.

Screwed to the shaft 12 is a ring 16 provided with spaced peripheral slots which receive a-locking pin l3 pivotally mounted in the base 10 and provided on its lower end, with an inclined plate or button 2t; Pressure on the plate 20. swings stopping their operation whilelthe fingers were 7 being-opened and uniform results have not been secured because of the difliculty of making sure that the fingers were opened just at the right time in the cycle of operations or atthe proper place for their intended function.

Another object of myinvention is to supply shears combined with and operated by the eviscerating machine in orderto reduc the time necessary in dressing a bird and to produce a: compact easily operated machine.

There are several novel features incorporated in the machine of my invention, chief among them being an easily removable head containing theentrail-engaging fingers, self-spacing clamps, powerful and simple driving'means-and an, easily manipulated mechanism for controlling th po- 1 sition of the support upon which the bird is held. The machine of my invention, besides being capable of rapid and eflicient operation, may be easily disassembled for cleaning and may be built more economically than machines heretofore in use. I

These and other objects and features of .my;

invention'will be more readily understood and appreciated from the following detailed description .of. a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and'shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

the pin 18 outwardly and frees it from a slotin thering [6. Then the shaft 12 can-be rotated. Whenlanew position has been reached, the pin it is permitted to fall back into a slot in the ring 16 and againlock the shaft against rotation.

Secured tothe upper end of the vertical shaft l2 isa dished support 22 suitablydimensioned to receive the bir'dto be eviscerated; Lugs 24 on the support 22 support a pair of pivotally mounted plates 26 from which four pins 28 extendfup wardly. As shown in Figs l and Zthewings of a bird 33, or forelegssofg an animal may. be wrapped around the pins 28, .theiorward rods being engaged between the body and upper portions of the wings, whilethe rear pins are disposed in they crooks of thej secondjo-ints. These pins 28 serve to hold the bird 3!! against forwardv or rearward movement on the platformprovided by the support 22. A spring 32 urges the two sets of pins together against the sides of the bird, their spacing: conforming to the breadth of the particular bird to be eviscerated. A- forked stop member 34 fits upon the rear end ofthe support 22 and may be clamped in, position by means of a set screwSG. 1

Extending upwardly iron the center'o f the. a

base I9 is a pillar 40,to the top of which is secured; a head 42- having a glong horizontal bore receiving a square hollow'shaft 44. One. side of the head 42 is slotted and a pin 46 projecting from one sideof the shaft 44 may slide in the slot. The pin 46 :carries a rollerl48 which projects into a. slot 5!) formed in alever 52 journaled'in,

shaft 44 is retracted.

52 is a handlefie, and it will be evident that when the handle is rocked; the lever 52 drives the shaft :34 back and forth through the head 42. A roller 55 is carried by the head 42 and bears against the shaft 34 to compensate for the weight of the shaft when it is extended to the position shown inFig. 2.

A stationary knife blade 69 is secured to the base l8 adjacent the handle 54, wide similar blade is secured to the handle. When the handle is swung rearwardly the blades 60 and 62 cooperate as shears and can conveniently be used to cut off the head and feet of abird.

The eviscerating head is carried on one end of the horizontal shaft 44 and includes a short shaft 64 having a threaded body 66 adjustably received inthe threaded hollow end of. the shaft t and provided with a lock nut 68. The position of the shaft Gamay be adjusted by screwing itinto or out. of the end of the shaft-44 and it'may be clampedin adjusted position by setting the loci: nut 68 against the end of the shaft 44. On the outer end of the shaft 64 an enlarged hollow head is is provided in which is contained a spring '52 and a disk 14.. Pivotally mountedin the head it are four fingers, an upper fingerTTS', side fingers it, and a lower finger 18.. The upper finger 15 has an integral lug 86 at its lower endQwhioh.

bearsagainst the outer faceof the disk-l4. The side fingers "It are similarly provided with lugs, but. the bottom finger has no contact with the disk Hi. The top and side fingers are arranged so that they can be opened to the position-shown inFigs. 2 and lgwhile the bottom finger f8 hangs freely. The outer faces of the top. finger 15 and the bottom finger T8 are provided with. lugs 82 for a purpose later to be explained. The forwardouter faces of all the. fingersare carefully rounded. Sliding freely on the shaft id is a shouldered ring 84 dimensioned to fit over the head -75. When the ring 84' is. forced over-the headlt, it causes the fingers to clench and assume theposition shown Fig; 5 in which the rounded fingers'present a smooth hemispherical end for the headld- Two fibre rings 85 back up the ring 34 and: reduce shock and noisewhen the machine is operated; Secured to the head 42 is an overhanging forwardly projectingstop having a semi-circular end shaped to meet the top finger f5 and the side fingers It when the As the handle 54 isturned to the right in Figs. 1 andz the shaft 44 moves to the right bringing the pivotally=mounted fingers against the stop (it; further movement ofthe shaft 44 causes the fingers to-begin to clench and to pass under the stopet, and still further movement of the shaft brings the ring M against the head 12 and forces it over the head 10- to completely clench the fingers and hold them in this initial'posi-tion. When the shaft 44 moves a to the left the clenchecl' fingers --move into an aperture formed in the breast of the bird 30. The ring 84, how- 7 ever, is not small enough to enter the bird andthe breast bones 83 engage-the shoulder on the ring, preventing further travel thereof. The ring 84 isthus held at restan'd' forced away from the head Til, releasing the fingers and permitting the spring 72 to open or spread thefingers,-which are pushed on through the bird untilthe entrails H 2,327,224 the base it. integrally mounted with the lever on the support 22, the wings being caught in the pins 23. The stop 34 may be used to hold the bird more firmly and is particularly useful when a frozen bird is to be dressed. The plate 20 is depressed and the support swung until the bird faces the operator. The crop is then removed by hand and a suitable aperture made in the breast of the bird for the entry of the fingers. the bird is swung on the platform until it faces away from the operator, in which position the rear end of the bird is opened to permit the fingers on the shaft 44 to emerge and come all the way through. The handle 54 is swung rearwardly or to the right carrying the eviscerating head intoits initial position as shown in Fig. 1. In this movement the stop 8% acts, as aiready explained, to close or contract the four fingers against the compression of the spring actuator l2 and to move the ring 34 forwardly with respect to the head so as to latch the fingers in cocked positionunder, spring tension.

Finally the bird is swung about until it faces the oncoming fingers, the handle 54 is swung forwardly or to the. left to introduce the clenched fingers intothe bird, the ring 84 is forced from the head It, tripping the fingers so that they may open under actuation of the spring 12. and the open fingers sweep through the interior of the bird, removing all the. viscera or entrails. The'birds gizzard, which is centrally located and sure toxbe engaged by the fingers, is secured to the other viscera, and consequently the. entrails are entirelyremoved. z

The bottom finger l3 hangs down freely and drags along the interior of the bird 3'9sweeping before it all that it: encounters. The lugs 82 or;

the fingers i5 and (8 ensure opening of the fin-- pletely accomplished. in one smooth continuous movement of the handle; there is nolost motion, the operator of the machine need not change the positionv of his hands throughout the operation. In the machine of my invention the evisceratlng operation is effective by relative movement of the support for the bird and the evi'sceratinghead, the eviscerating head being herein shown as movable on the base and relative to the support which latter is shown as fixed tothe base.

Having now described and illustrated my invention,. what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A machine for cleaning poultry, which-com prises,'a support for a-bird and ash'aftmounted for relative movement longitudinally of the shaft, a plurality of fingers pivotally mounted at the end of'sa'idshaft and initially held in closed posi tion, and means engageable with the bird on said support for releasing: said fing'ens.

2. A machine for cleaning poultry, which cornprises a support for a-bird and a shaft mounted for relative movement to project the shaft means securedtothe end ofisaid shaft and initlally maintained in inoperative position, and means on the shaft operated by engagement with a bird on said support for causing said entrailengaging means to assume operative position.

Then

on, means for forcing said fingers through a bird on said support, and means for engaging a bird on said support and thereby causing said fingers to expand upon reaching a predetermined distance into the interior of said bird.

4. A machine for preparing poultry, which comprises, a base, a head secured to said base, a shaft mounted for reciprocation in said head, a handle journaled in the base and connected to said shaft, a blade secured to the handle, a cooperating stationary blade secured to the base, and eviscerating means secured to said shaft, whereby the handle operates the blade as well as the eviscerating means. J

5. A machine for preparing poultry, which comprises a .base, a support for a bird secured to said base, a head secured to said base, a shaft mounted in said head for reciprocation through an animal on said support, a lever journaled in said base and connected to said shaft, a handle pivotally mounted in the base and connected to the lever, a stationary shear blade secured to the base, and a cooperating shear blade connected to said handle.

6. In a machine for cleaning poultry, a shaft mounted for reciprocation through a bird, evisceratingmeans comprising a hollow head removably mounted on said shaft, a compression spring disposed within said hollow head, a plurality of fingers pivotally mounted at the end of said head, means associated with said spring for urging said fingers outwardly, and a ring mounted to slide over said head and close the fingers.

'7. A machine for eviscerating poultry, which comprises a base, a head secured to said base, a shaft mounted for reciprocation in said head, a

plurality of fingers secured to the end of the shaft, means urging the fingers outwardly, and a stop secured to the head and lying in the path of said fingers, whereby reciprocation of the shaft will draw the fingers past the stop and thereby close them.

1 8, A machine for cleaning poultry, which com- I prises a support for a bird, a carrier member, entrail-engaging fingers pivotally mounted on said carrier member, means for causing relative movement of the support and the carrier member to introduce the fingers into the bird, and means for engaging a bird on'said support and thereby causing said fingers to expand upon reaching a pre-determined distance into said bird.

9. A machine for cleaning poultry, which includes in its structure a support for a bird and a shaft mounted for relativemovement to carry the end of the shaft through the bird from one end to the other, a group of expansible spring operated fingers mounted on the end of the shaft and held initially in contracted position, and releasing means carried by the shaft and movable thereon by engagement with the bird and without interrupting the relative movement of the shaft and bird for automatically causing the fingers to expand within the bird.

10.'A machine for cleaning'poultry, which includes a base having thereon a'support for a bird and an eviscerating head mounted for relative movement to carry the head through the bird from one end to the other, a plurality of fingers movably mounted on the head, spring means tending at all times to expand the fingers, operating mechanism for effecting said relative movement of the head and support, means for forcibly contracting the fingers upon separating movement of the headvand support, and a device for latching the fingers in contracted position, movement .of the latching device relative to the head during approaching relative movement of the head and support being adapted to release the fingers for expanding movement.

JOSEPH P. SPANG. 

